Cod Almighty | Diary

I see your sun is shining

31 October 2022

Miss Guest Diary writes: I can't pretend Saturday's result at Hartlepool wasn't disappointing – not 8-1 disappointing – but still a comedown from the other away games I've seen this season, all victories except the first game against Orient. But then BOTB called it on Friday, didn't he: bottom of the league – no chance, fighting for their lives.

In a way it was comforting, so typically Town. Take an early lead, dominate the game – getting the ball in the net three further times but having the goals ruled out – then sit back, apparently settling for the 1-0 with a forward (Richardson) being replaced by a mid-fielder (Green) on 70 minutes. That Town became increasingly disorganised and conceded two goals in the last 15 minutes came as no surprise at all to long-time watchers. Memories of the first Parslow Point at Chester back in 2015 swam to the surface, but this time accompanied by resignation rather than rage.

These days there is a lot of buzz around the use of analytics in football. Does that xG figure that pops up in the corner of the TV screen when managers are being interviewed after a game have something to do with it? I don't know and have no real interest in finding out. But Chairman Wow has an article in today's Guardian on this topic, in which I was interested to read that experts have concluded that football is half skill and half luck. Also that the "data-led, reductive view of the game underestimates the role culture and luck play". For teams at our level I suggest adding the level of support and the quality of the refereeing to that mix.

You only have to consider Saturday's result to see how random football can be. I'm betting that, on paper, Town were a shoo-in to beat Hartlepool but, to use an oft-repeated cliché, football isn't played on paper.

When I'm not watching Town I spend time volunteering as a bereavement supporter and one of the things I sometimes do is to encourage the person I am supporting to look for positives in their situation. I can't magic their loved one back from the dead but I can help them to seek what I call silver linings to try and make their loss more bearable. I have long also done this for myself in relation to Town defeats.

I couldn't wave a magic wand to make Taylor's two 'goals' onside, so took the silver linings from Saturday which were, in no particular order: being entertained on the journey by a podcast about goalkeeping featuring Lloyd Griffith; stumbling across a free car park near the ground; bumping into two fellow CA diarists at the game; Gavan Holohan's wonder strike; a garage on the A19 where the petrol was cheaper than anything seen in Lincoln for many months. Not much, I know, but they do add up over the course of a season.

Have you completed the new club survey yet? I confess it felt somehow less pertinent than last year's. Quite a few questions are about community engagement which, as someone who doesn't live in the area, I felt at a loss to answer. I don't really know much about what currently goes on, so was unable to offer much comment on these activities or make any suggestions for the future. Lots about the fanzone and the catering which, again, I couldn't comment on as someone whose consumption at football grounds is limited to the occasional cup of hot chocolate.

With regard to possible improvements in the matchday experience I reiterated my plea for hot water in the ladies toilets, and requested the removal of the hordes who have taken to standing on the concourse behind my seat at the back of the Pontoon. Something I have already raised with the club a couple of times, to no avail.

Towards the end of the survey there is a question which is something along the lines of which three words come to mind when you think of the club. I defy any Town fan not to respond with "Up the Mariners". I certainly did.